Education Reform Can No Longer be “Business as Usual", Says Saraki

By Sunny Anderson Osiebe

President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has said that with the recent economic recession in the country, interventions in the nation’s educational system must no longer be business as usual.

In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, the Senate President said there is a need for comprehensive education reform across all levels to ensure that Nigerian students and schools are competitive globally.

“Considering the economic situation in the country and the widening social inequality, we need to ensure that all Nigerians are well equipped for the future that lies ahead,” he said, “This means that any reform in education can no longer be business as usual — it must involve government, academia, and the private sector.

“What we all want to see is an educational system that is meeting the demands of the employers in both the public and private sectors,” the Senate President said, “ However, it goes beyond just reforming our school systems, we have to tackle this problem from the root, which is primary education, all the way to tertiary education, which is at the top.

“For example, basic education is the primary responsibility of the local governments. This needs to be reviewed. We have to look into and redesign the current education model that has domiciled the most important tier of education in the weakest tier of government.”

The Senate President also stated that all reform in education must be addressed from the simple perspective of: “What do we as Nigerians want our children to know and be able to do at each stage of their education?”

“Once we are able to answer this question, once we are able to determine what our children should know and be able to do at every age and level, from these expectations, we can begin to measure the competence of both teachers and students.”

The Senate President stated that over the next few months, the Senate will be working to restructure Nigeria’s education system by providing a legislative framework that will create more autonomy for Nigeria’s education system to make it more competitive locally and internationally.

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